Darkness Shown, Darkness Hidden
by Chamomile Pool
Summary: Robin wants extinguish any suppressed darkness within him, and to do so, he seeks the help of someone whose powers depend entirely upon controlling her emotions. A Teen Titans fanfic based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
1. Two Birds in a Remarkably Similar Cage

I stumbled upon this while looking through some of my old writing, and I am posting it here in case someone can get some shred of enjoyment from this story. It's a Teen Titans fanfic, based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Please comment! And I'm not D.C. or Robert Louis Stevenson, so they get credit for the material this is based on.

1/4. Two Birds in a Remarkably Similar Cage

At first, Robin thought it was another attack on the Titans, but this was not from the outside. These afflictions were personal; this had nothing to do with the others. He alone tore at his hair at night, barraged by the same nightmares. So effortlessly they unraveled him, and it was beginning to show.

He did not join Beast Boy and Cyborg when they offered to play video games—in fact, he rarely left his room. Everyone had the same guess as to why he was again a recluse; they were all half correct. This, however, went beyond simple justice, simple madness, his simple hunt for Slade. This was a more complex matter.

Robin did not respond to Starfire. If Raven had ventured to knock upon his door, he would have paid her no attention, either, but she seemed to understand. She could best relate to that war in his mind. A battle for control, his personal Trigon. It was wholly internal, wholly a battle of his will.

He spent some time cutting apart and otherwise destroying what was left of his Red X stash, as a precaution. His eyes clashed with the other costumes—none of them fit him. He was not quite himself, yet not quite another. A scale had to be tipped, but he knew not how.

Robin turned to the one who could.

Raven must have been quite startled when she heard him asking to come in. Before he rarely ventured into her quarters, and this an especially peculiar time for a visit, given how he rejected the others. Raven had to admit it to herself; even she was curious about what was going on in the bird boy's head this time.

"I'll make this quick," he began rapidly, lingering by the door, "Raven, I need your help. This is something only your magic could solve; I have tried everything else. Beast Boy can't joke this away. Cyborg can't fix me. Starfire… All her best wishes in the world mean nothing. Slade is everywhere. I keep hearing his voice, again and again. Right now he is reminding me that we are so alike, that we are the same."

Raven stoically returned Robin's words at first with a glare. She analyzed him; she watched his hands tremble with genuine fear. This was something she was almost startled to see in Robin before; he was dependent. He was desperate.

With no other route to take, or at least any beneficial route, she slid past Robin and closed the door. Candles had already been lit upon the floor, but even her meditating could be interrupted for this. From a nearby book shelf, complete with countless volumes ranging from a tattered Rorek's Spellbook to books of opposite tones, she spied one that was relevant.

"Practicing the dark arts is dangerous for those not properly trained," Raven said, her hand hesitating over the shelf, "Even if you are serious about this, I question whether you are in the right state of mind to even be making such decisions. You haven't exactly been making sound judgments on missions lately."  
He rubbed his brow furiously; it was all too true. Cinderblock nearly wrecked an entire hospital full of patients, because he failed to predict the movements Cyborg would later consider to be, "so obvious that we should've seen that ton of bricks' plans a mile away."

Still, Robin persisted, "I know, Raven. Don't tell me I don't know!" His entire demeanor was revealed through that fiery tone. Sighing, he explained, "But if I don't do something fast, I am afraid of what I'll do. I might just prove Slade right… Raven, I might do something to hurt you guys, and I can't let that happen."

Raven gave an all-too-understanding nod and plucked the book from the shelf. Bringing it to her face, which was concealed by her hood, she softly blew the dust off the cover. For a moment her eyes remained on the title—_Harnessing and Repressing One's Inner Darkness_. It was a rather light volume by an obscure author, and she had actually forgotten about her possession of it until now. This was common for her; it was not until a particular text was in order that she knew she had it filed somewhere.  
Cracking the book open, flipped through the pages and advised, "Sit, Robin. This is going to take a while, especially for a beginner like you…"

According to the author's notes, one was able to sever the evil within one's very soul and control it completely. Robin wanted to take it a step further; he wanted to destroy it. Raven understood his interest in doing so, but she was wary. She knew from her own experiences how impossible that was; the closer one got to such light, the greater the shadows became.

Robin, however, was still Robin even now. His stubbornness had evolved into an impatient determination to oppose anything that even hinted at being against his wishes. Raven had to comply.

They both sat cross-legged, across from each other, and after a bit of explaining on Raven's part, they were ready to begin. "Darkness shown and darkness hidden," Raven began in a chant Robin quickly echoed, each making the appropriate hand motions, "That which is from the heart, from the mind, from the soul—barren of joy and desolate to hope, may that be pinpointed, cast out, and made to stand apart!" Raven lifted her right hand, and the pair began to glow a violent violet.

"Azarath," she concluded loudly in her regular fashion, "Metrion!"

Robin's eyes, just before closed, now exploded and opened widely, and he shouted painfully, "Zinthos!"


	2. Men Wear Masks

2/4. Men Wear Masks

"Awww, c'mon, Robin! Just one more race! The tournament—"

The Boy Wonder shot Beast Boy a fierce glance, and his friend cowered into a shuddering ball on the couch. "—can definitely wait!" Beast Boy suddenly finished, before meekly adding, "Let's check this out."

Robin nodded and looked then at Cyborg, who dutifully changed the channel. In an instant, the screen flashed from a video game to a view of Jump City, with red all over. A blunt, bold "ALERT!" kept flashing again and again at the top.

"Seeee?" Beast Boy said, shoving his index finger into the air, "I told you nothing was wrong!"  
Shaking her head, Raven spoke up from behind the couch, saying, "That's the last time we let them touch the remote. Ever."

Beast Boy looked up at her and retorted, "Just because you don't believe in TV doesn't mean that we can't—"

"No," Robin sternly interjected, "Raven's right. You can't just deactivate the alert system. I know it interrupts your game, but it's _supposed_ to change the channel during a crisis. Anyway, we can talk about it later— it looks like we have a research facility to head to."

He dashed towards the door, his golden cape barely able to keep up with him. When he was halfway out, he looked back and saw them all in the same place, wearing these confused looks suddenly.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" He asked, raising a brow. A silence followed before Starfire answered, "Are you not going to give us the go?"

"Oh, right!" Robin exclaimed, not able to contain a chuckle, "Titans: _Go_!"

Two birds, something green that looked like a bird, a machine, and a flying, over-tanned alien skimmed through Jump City, to reach the energy research facility in question. They leapt from building to building, and as they panned across the grey horizon, they each began to worry that they would arrive too late.

Beast Boy and Cyborg had successfully avoided the alert for some time, but remarkably, when the group arrived, the perpetrator was still standing there, waiting for them.

"My, this seems rather out of character for you guys."

In a determined, strangely respectful and reverent tone, Robin shouted from a distance, "I thought maybe you had given up… Red X!"

Sure enough, standing slick before them was the mysterious Red X, an unidentified thief who had stolen Robin's old rogue suit for personal use. They had not encountered him since defeating the Brotherhood of Evil, some months ago.

"Give up?" Red X chuckled, "I may not be on anyone's side, but that doesn't mean I don't have something to fight for. Sides, even if I could afford to give up, where would the fun be in that?"

He swung his arm, and instantly four miniature "X"s formed in between his fingers. Dashing forward, he released them at the feet of the group. They braced for impact, but when the weapons hit the ground, they merely created a large cloud of dark, almost abject smoke.

Amidst the coughing, Robin summoned his bo-staff and spun it carefully, and the gust created from this spinning was enough to push some of the smoke away from him. He was thus enclosed in a small area in which he could see, but he knew that the others had almost been completely blinded.

"They say the chemicals in this smoke mess with people's emotions—"

Robin spun around, hearing Red X close by.

"—or, in other words, your emotion-driven friends' powers are null and void."

Red X's boot slammed into Robin's chest, knocking him flat on the ground. Pinned there, he listened as his rival went on, "Raven and Starfire need to control their emotions to control their powers, and your Beast friend is no different. Right now, he can't focus enough to become anything. You know what happened when he was consumed with anger—there is a link. As for Cyborg, that one requires more of a scientific explanation, and—"

"Cut it!" Robin shouted, narrowing his eyes, "I don't care what you're doing to my friends, so long as you stop it now!" Robin collapsed his bo-staff and then, with a roar, slammed it at the ground and expanded it again, using the pressure released to propel himself forward and overwhelm Red X.  
Robin reached for Red X's mask, attempting to rip it off, but in turn his opponent reached for his own. "You are fighting dirty, Robin!" Red X exclaimed, well amused, "First you're late for the show, and now this? You really need to get your act together if you are going to stop someone as _vile_ as me."

Robin, without a second thought, released Red X's mask and wound up his fist. With a savage grin, he punched his rival square in the face. Rubbing his sore cheek, Red X staggered into the smoke behind him and muttered, "Sheesh, way to show your true colors…"

Frantically, Robin looked around, ready for a surprise attack. None came. With each passing moment, he became ever more aware of his strange thoughtlessness; he was acting more on impulse and less on calculations. _"Good,"_ Robin might have concluded, would he have been able to think clearly, _"Then Raven's idea might have worked. Slade is the most calculating man to ever live, and if I am going the opposite direction, it's all for the better."_

Then the smoke cleared. He looked for Red X instinctively, but when he failed to find him, he eventually decided to look for his friends. They were right in front of him, each secured to the ground with large, adhesive X's. One X wrapped around their torsos and secured their arms behind their back, while another kept their legs down and still.

Robin rushed towards Starfire, before catching a glimpse of something flashing just within his range of vision. His eyes snapped into focus on that object instead.

"Already running away?" Robin asked, fists at his sides, muscles tense, "I thought you said you weren't a coward!" He jumped over the helpless Starfire and continued past his friends, in pursuit of Red X.  
The silhouette of a man kept looking back, apprehensively. At one point, as he jumped from one building to another, Red X launched another X at Robin, from mid-air. Robin ducked in time, refusing to stop his charge, and listened as it exploded behind him. He could feel the blast's intense heat upon his back, and he found himself smiling—this was thrilling, of all things.

Robin fired one of his own projectiles, and it too exploded, but his attempt was successful. Robin feared not; he jumped into the explosion, stomping his foot down on Red X, just as his nemesis had pinned him down earlier. The smoke quickly dissipated, and Robin could be seen grabbing Red X by his collar and hoisting him up partially off the ground, only to slam him back down.

"What are you up to?" Robin demanded, but he offered no time for an answer. He punched Red X again, and a second later, he launched his other fist. He swung again, and again, left and right, pummeling Red X as he lay in a stunned stupor.

"Stop, stop!" Red X cried out, but Robin refused to hear him. He raised his fist again, and he intended to bleed his opponent into a state of total unconsciousness. He would have, too, if his fist had suddenly not been stopped mid-swing.

It was covered in a black mist, and he saw Raven approaching, her hand extended. She was solemn, which was no surprise, but she was also looking tragic. The effect on Starfire's face was at least twice as fierce.

"Robin… why continue?" The Tamaranian's large, moist eyes could no longer bear to look at Robin. She turned away, in fear.

Robin ached. He rose, slowly, and began to realize what had occured. "What… Was that me?" Robin looked at his hands, and they were shaking. "Did I just…?" He looked over at Red X, who was weakly and fruitlessly trying to stand.

"I guess," Red X muttered, "You got me, Robin… but at what price?"

Robin could not answer. "I thought," Red X continued, "You didn't like to be the villain."

The Boy Wonder shrugged, far from apathetically, and looked straight into the mask before him. "That doesn't mean I don't know how to be," he answered simply, before Cyborg grabbed him violently by the shoulders and created distance between the two rivals.

Even Beast Boy, as Robin looked at him for relief, shook his head. Even he was not joking now. Robin looked back at Raven; she knew something. She knew what had happened, perhaps. Maybe.

He certainly did not. All he could do was stare at Red X and stare at the blood that was around him and on his gloves. He thought back to Japan. He thought back to his apprenticeship. He thought back to his time in that costume, the one now worn by a man that, if anything else, could be called more reliable. That was the man in front of him, the man who had felt the hatred of his darker side.

As the thoughtlessness he had previously experienced abruptly came to an end, the first thought to enter his mind since crept in. It faded in, and at first it was imperceptible to Robin. A moment later, however, as his friends were asking if he was alright, he could hear nothing but that same thought, repeating, repeating, over and over again. It screamed; his friends were just whispers.

"That was vicious, dishonorable, and ruthless. Excellent work."

Robin shuddered and shook away that wretched thought, that wretched thought, but a new one erupted in its place.

"All this time you have had no idea of the power lurking inside you. The glorious destiny that awaits. Unfortunately, where we are going, your friends would only get in the way. Everything you care about, you will destroy… But don't worry, Robin. That which you hate will be there to comfort you. As long as I'm around, you'll never be alone. I am the thing who keeps you up at night— The evil who haunt's the dark corner of your mind, and I will never, ever, leave you…"


	3. Twisted

**3/4. Twisted (Hyde)**

They locked him in his room.

"You're going to… quarantine me?"

They refused him an answer. Blank eyes were his reply. Cyborg opened his mouth to speak, but…

"Just like that?"

Starfire turned, slowly, and whimpered, "Robin… Please, don't do this…"

He felt himself turn to stone. His entire body was cemented in place, and he felt a sudden death within himself. Nowhere inside of him did he have the courage to ask the big questions on his mind. If he would have been given more time to contemplate Starfire's reaction, he would have dulled into a more somber state than the others.

However, the door was shut on him, and he soon after heard it locked. Monochrome surroundings beckoned him, softly. It was not a strong call, but it was the only home he could find. Robin crawled towards his bed, and instead of hopping into it, he slumped down into a ball against it.

Drawing his legs inward, he wrapped them against his chest and sat there, back slightly lurched forward. For some time, he merely looked on, not so much searching for something in particular, but just looking as a defense mechanism.

Everything was black and white now. The light above was the only thing keeping the darkness from overwhelming him. A ceiling fan was joined with it, and with each aching revolution of the blades, black lines traced along the walls and across Robin.

"How long will this last?"

Robin made no motions. The fan seemed to pick up its pace.

"How long can you survive?"

He looked up and stared into the white, concentrating so much that his head began to hurt. Swinging his hand through his spiky locks, Robin sighed and whispered to himself, "As long as it takes. It's not like I have a choice."

"Oh, but you do."

With his eyes narrowed, Robin relaxed his legs and fired back, "I know what is going on here. Somehow, you implanted something in my head, Slade. You are literally in my head, but it is not going to work! I am the one in control here, and it is killing you that I am."

There came a sketchy laugh within the hollows of Robin's head.

"Are you really in control? You assume too much. And besides, not everything has to do with Slade. You really are obsessed with him, aren't you?"

Not knowing if this was rhetorical or not, Robin kept his calm demeanor and just sat through more.

"You think about him all the time and are always re-convincing yourself that you are nothing like him. Admit it; it takes effort to prove yourself wrong, because in the deepest trenches of your gut, you know your real nature."

Robin quietly stood up and walked towards a nearby dresser. After opening one door with a smooth creak, he plucked from the inside a faded patch, similar yet quite different from the one Robin usually wore on his costume.

"I think I know how _he_ would respond," Robin began, "Every man has a light side and a dark side within him, and the one that grows is the one the man gives the most attention to. When he dove into the depths to save lives, he had to always remind himself of who he was fighting for, rather than who he was fighting."

He put the old patch back and closed the door, and as he turned, he felt a sudden piercing ring scratch through his ear.

"Or perhaps the old man was wrong. Have you ever thought about it? He has searched every nook and cranny for his nemesis, but he has never succeeded in bringing him down. Never. Despite all of his bravery, courage, and sickening ignorance, he has amounted to failure. For every victory he has, he loses twice. Robin, maybe you are similar. Your hopes of defeating Slade... They say that doing things the same way over and over again and somehow expecting different results is the definition of 'insanity.' "

Robin paused, rubbing his aching ear. "But it's also the definition of persistence," he continued in a confident whisper, "And I really don't care what you have to say. Why should I listen to something put into my head by an enemy?"

He crossed his arms and chuckled, "You're full of it!"

The voice did not return with a quick rebuttal, as Robin had expected. He had secretly hoped, also, that the voice might return, just so he could listen to it squirm for a response. After he realized that this was not going to happen, Robin sat down carefully on his bed and began to tinker with his gadgets.  
"What happened with Red X was a mistake," he consoled himself, "And, knowing what I know now, it was probably Slade who made me do it. That inner voice… It had to be Slade. He is the only one that would do it."

Naturally, he began to list off the other possible candidates for the mind control, by continuing, "Control Freak would have nothing to gain from this. Mumbo Jumbo and Doctor Light have more against Raven than me. Whoever did this is targeting me, specifically, and other than Red X, all that remains really is Slade. Mad Mod would have made me grow my hair out long and buy a lava lamp, not pummel a 'properly' behaving adolescent like Red X…"

He laughed off his worries. Really, there was nothing to fear from a mere voice. Unlike last time Slade attempted to manipulate him and appear through his fears, this time he had no physical presence. He could not harm him.

"I am not Slade."

Robin stopped messing with his weapons and stretched himself out on his bed, ready for whatever chat he had to endure next.

"I am _you_, Robin."

The boy closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, hissing, "I'm nothing like you!"

"Ah, but you are. This is part of your nature, the darker part, the part that is willing to do anything to get what it wants, be the cause justice, revenge, or something more. You are the one who attacked Red X today; I am the one who took control when the rest of you was too weak to do what was necessary."

He grimaced, firing back, "Prove it! Prove you're not Slade!" The answer echoed through Robin's skull.

"I don't have to. You know it already… There has always been this part of you, but you repressed it, until it would burst out. When you went against the Teen Titans, it received the light of day. This is who you are, and for once, your friends did not hold you back. No, it is because of Raven that you are able to come to this realization at all—"

"What?" He asked, shooting upright in an almost delirious fashion, "What did she do?"

"It's more what you asked her to do, Robin. You asked her to sever the ties between your light and your dark; and, here I am. Are you happy now?"

Robin clasped his head and slammed it back, against the wall, letting out a miniature snarl. "I wanted her to remove you—that part of me," he explained, eyes trying to keep up with his racing thoughts, "So that I could move one…"

"Some things change, but not even magic can change who you really are. You can deny yourself only for so long; you hypocrite! You still don't understand! The dim shades are not always evil, just as too much light can be blinding and even kill. I am the part of you, then, who wants you to elevate yourself. The potential you have, Robin, is being misplaced with the Titans. You could do so much better, so much _more_."

Robin again slammed his head against the wall, repeating, "Out, out! Shut up! You're not real!"

"Nonsense! You would deny yourself, even now? Even when I am speaking to you more clearly than ever? You are many parts a failure, but no part of you is an idiot! Listen to me! The reason you cannot beat Slade is because—"

"I don't care!" Robin interrupted, trembling.

"You don't care about defeating Slade?"

Robin remained still, quiet, and he attempted thoughtlessness.

"You don't care about this entire City going up in flames, or worse yet—your dear Starfire being in danger? He knows you two are close; he knows everything. He knows how you have suppressed me, and he will use it to his advantage! He will count on your weakness! He will dangle her life before you, and this time, you will lose more than just the trust of your friends! You may lose them entirely. You will be another failure…"

"No!" Robin erupted, "I won't let that happen! I'll figure out a way to stop him."

"By doing what? Relying on your friends? They may not be there. You're going to have to grow up, Robin. One day you will be on your own. Slade will eliminate them all, and you will have no choice but to complacently accept this destiny—because you are too much of a coward to take the future into your own hands!"

Robin dove off his bed and paced about the room, plugging his ears uselessly.

"Cyborg is but a machine; he is half the salvation you would need—"Robin bit his lip, drawing blood.

"Beast Boy is a mere child, and think back to how he did not save his precious Doom Patrol friends—"Robin lurched forward, then swayed back, faint.

"Ah, Raven… Try as she might, she can barely save herself—"Robin tried to drown out the words with humming.

He stopped after awhile, hearing no more from the voice in his head.

"...and as for Starfire." Robin felt a pang within.

"She is the worst of them all. She is so wrapped up in you that she will be the first to jump into the line of fire. She is also one who will keep coming back to take your fall, and even as she suffers, it will not once dawn upon her that she is only being hurt because you are not willing to save her. Robin, what more of an ultimatum do you need? No more fighting fair in an unfair game. It is either you fight to win, or you lose _everything_."

An immense knock came from the door, from something superhuman. Robin, like a jittery rodent, turned and watched timidly as the door quaked and finally gave way. It was kicked down, and through the piercing light of the outside hall, a shadowy figure rose. It was a foreboding, oppressive presence.

"I knew it," Robin seethed, watching as the figure came more clearly into view, "It was you, this whole time—_Slade_!"

The one-eyed menace seemed to be smiling at him, but one could never tell. What made him especially frightening was his unusual silence; Slade perhaps tuned in on this paranoia and was further exploiting it.  
"You have been in my head," Robin continued, ripping at his own hair, "And you nearly made me kill Red X! You've gone too far! I do not know how you got past the sensors, and I don't care! Get out now!"

Robin thought he saw Slade smirk, somehow. Instead of turning away, the enemy took a few steps forward and extended a hand toward him. In turn, Robin drew forth his bo-staff and extended it, twirling it with a no-nonsense attitude.

"You stand on the verge, Robin. It is you, or it is me. It is justice, or it is tyranny. It is Starfire, or it's…"

"You!" Robin screamed, finishing the sentence in his head. He ran forth and plunged his free hand at Slade's throat. With incredible strength, Robin shoved him against a wall and ran him vertically, holding him up for further scrutiny.

Slade's eye neither twitched with fear nor was flared up with anger. There was nothing pitiable in that look; it was just the sort of glare a machine might give. It had processed what was going on, and it was not going to stop it. In fact, it looked like Slade wanted this. Robin could not help but wonder what sort of a role consent might play, if indeed he had to—

"I dare you."

The two men in masks were locked thusly for some time, with Slade soon gasping for breath. Robin was building up the courage to do what he now knew had to be done.

"You were right," Robin conceded, agonized, "I have been denying a part of me, and through this, I have let scum like you wreck this city. It is because I do this, that you even exist. Everything you have ever done, I could be blamed for. Every second I let you live is another second in which my weaknesses failures are made evident and people are put in danger."

Robin squeezed a bit tighter on Slade's neck, smiling even as his victim was on the verge of turning blue against all the monochrome.

"But—"

Robin, with his tight hold on Slade's neck, tapped into that same wellspring of energy that allowed him to pin his opponent against the wall and keep him there, launched him away, to the floor.

"But what you said about me, extends to you," Robin continued, his smile growing, his back to Slade, "You tell me to own up to my responsibilities, yet you run every time from your's. You say that I will forever pursue you, that I will never accomplish what I need unless I use your tactics. But you have not obtained what you want; in fact, you are the larger failure. Even when I was your apprentice, I was grudgingly against you. I _hated_ you. It has something to do with free will, Slade…"

Pivoting, Robin sharply pointed at Slade and continued, "The same will which I have as a _whole_, as a full human being, to choose how I act, rather than be a slave to the lesser parts of me! The parts you wish to exploit, the parts I sought to destroy, are a part of me, yes, and I see now that they are inseparable from the rest of who I am! However, what separates me from you—what keeps me from_ ever _becoming _you_—is the fact that I never will never be less than human! You would forsake all of your humanity, all of its strengths, for the more focused power of evil. But these narrow powers will defeat you, every time. Evil has only one purpose— to undo that which is good. But, Slade, the power I have, the part of me I will choose to feed, is the part of me that can defeat you in a new way every time, and every time I will find a new reason to oppose you! These reasons give me strength to carry on. I have a meaning. You, Slade, are nothing but a figment, a flash in this world. If I kill you, I kill the humanity in me—and you are not worth that much."

Robin turned, triumphant and nearly out of breath and emotion. He took a few steps out of the room, to rejoin the others.

"Robin…"

His heart skipped several beats, and he made a 180. Laying in the place of Slade, who now seemed not to exist, was Starfire, tearing up. With wide-eyes and an absolute overflow, Robin swept down to meet her again, and scooping her up with his hands, he held her as he too sobbed.

In a few seconds, there were more footsteps behind him; but it could have been Slade again, and he would not have cared. He just kept Starfire close, but he did catch some words from the person who just entered:

"Dude, what have you done? Star, are you OK? Quick, everyone! Cy, Raven- something really, _really_ bad happened, guys!"


	4. Relief

**4/4. Relief (Jekyll)**

Of all the powers the Teen Titans possessed, not one of them was a healer. They could destroy evil, and they could destroy good, but the only repairing that Cyborg, for example, could do was on the T-Car.

It was Cyborg who carried Starfire into her room and placed her ever-so-gently on top of the bed. "She's not hurt," he assessed, "But she _is_ scared stiff. I don't know what went down back there, but you have some explaining to do."

He turned his head toward Robin and gave him a rare, accusatory glare. The others then looked towards him, and awkwardly, Robin muttered, "I don't want to talk about it."

"You don't have a choice!" Cyborg exclaimed, "We have to know what happened, if we are going to help her. What do you care about more: keeping this to yourself, or Starfire?"

With a shuffle of his feet, Robin finally explained the events that had just elapsed, up to the greatest details he could offer. His description of the voice particularly disturbed his friends, and when he was finished, Raven had all the answers.

"Robin," she began, "Do you remember how you asked me to separate your 'good' from your 'bad'? Well, I think something went wrong—very wrong. There is a reason I have never attempted this on myself and why I was cautious about casting that spell. I should not have, but at the time, I didn't know it would affect you like this… Robin, that voice in your head really was you, not Slade. However, it doesn't surprise me that it _sounded_ like him.

"That dark side is composed of all your worst attributes, insecurities, and fears. Your fear of becoming like Slade dominated you. Robin, I do not know if we can do anything to help Starfire at this point, other than just being with her, but there is one hope for you—You have to it all go. All of those failures in the past, Slade's words, and any regrets… If you don't forgive yourself, you yourself will do the unforgivable. That dark part of you will feed off your hysteria, and Robin, we don't want that to happen to you."

Everyone's eyes glittered, full of empathy for the plight their friend was experiencing. Robin, wanting to shake and quiver, remained firm and confident so to give the others some confidence.

"We all have to fight our inner demons," Cyborg said after a while, "And there is a part of everyone that scares him. We can't be black and white; that's what makes us human."

Beast Boy added, "It's not like you should stop trying to get better, but nobody can be perfect. Even me!"

Raven smacked the back of Beast Boy's head, dropping the green boy like a sack of potatoes. "Especially him," Raven said.

After a brief chuckle, Robin began to appear more like his old self. "Thanks, guys," he said, "I don't know what I would do without you, but, I think this is something I have to handle on my own."

"No."

A voice was piping up nearby, and they turned to hear Starfire weakly respond, "This is not a choice that alone you must make! We are your friends, and you will not be such a, such a—Glorbark to us!"

Starfire then collapsed into a peaceful sleep, and as to not disturb her, the others left the room.

Later, when Starfire was over her trauma, Raven set about stopping the effects of her spell. She told Robin in the frankest manner possible that she could not undo what had already begun within his mind, but she could at least prevent it from getting any worse of its own natural accord.

"When you saw Slade," Raven explained after the hostile spell had been at last contained, "Your mind was tricking you and projecting the object of your hatred onto the nearest person, who happened to be Starfire."

It made sense to Robin, but that was not the most pertinent question on his mind. "Will she be alright?" He had to ask.

"She has already recovered, for the most part," Raven assured him, "But it would not surprise me if she trusts you a bit less. You will have to earn that back. The voice should be dimmer now, and if you ignore it completely, in a few days it should go away. The moment you dwell on your regrets and anger, though, it will fire right back up—so don't let your guard down. Always remember who you are fighting for."

"And not who I am fighting," said Robin, finishing the statement.

Some time later, the alarms fired off, and the interior of the Tower lit up red. Cyborg dropped his wrench and left the shop, and along the way, he bumped into a hurrying Starfire. Raven dropped Rorek's Spellbook and met up with Beast Boy, who a moment prior had been playing a variation of catch with Silkie.

Robin was there already, and when they arrived, he pointed toward the screen and shouted, "It looks like Mad Mod and Control Freak have teamed up at the local theatre! They converted the movie screens into hypno-screens and have been dragging people into their new world!"

"Control Freak _and_ Mad Mod?" Cyborg asked, taken aback.

"Together?" Beast Boy leapt on top of Cyborg's head, wide-eyed.

"Looks like it," Robin confirmed, looking back, "Is everyone ready?"

Starfire smiled back and answered simply, "If you are, so are we."

"If that's the case," Robin said, "Titans: _Go_!"

He darted towards the door, and the others followed suit, Starfire hugging behind, Raven observant to his right, Cyborg watching his back, and Beast Boy attempting to find the keys to his favorite vehicle, the B-Ped.

**END**


End file.
